Mahabharata — Ashramavasika Parva, Shloka 38
अश्रमवासिनां विषादः — Lament in Hastināpura after the Elders’ Forest Withdrawal
षोडशेमानि वर्षाणि गतानि मुनिपुज्भव । अस्य राज्ञो हतान् पुत्रान शोचतो न शमो विभो,मुनिवर! प्रभो! इन महाराजको अपने मरे हुए पुत्रोंक लिये शोक करते आज सोलह वर्ष बीत गये; किंतु अबतक इन्हें शान्ति नहीं मिली
Vaiśampāyana uvāca | ṣoḍaśemāni varṣāṇi gatāni munipuṅgava | asya rājño hatān putrān śocato na śamo vibho ||
Vaiśampāyana dijo: «Oh, el mejor de los sabios, han pasado dieciséis años y, sin embargo, este rey—que llora a sus hijos muertos—no ha hallado paz. Su pena no se ha aquietado, mostrando cómo el apego a los propios y las heridas de la guerra pueden seguir encadenando la mente mucho después de que el tiempo haya avanzado.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Time alone does not heal grief when attachment and unresolved remorse persist; inner peace (śama) requires insight, acceptance, and disciplined restraint of the mind rather than mere passage of years.
Vaiśampāyana reports that even after sixteen years, the king continues to mourn his slain sons and has not attained tranquility, highlighting the enduring psychological aftermath of the Kurukṣetra catastrophe.
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